en

[en] /ɛn/
noun
1.
the letter N, n.
2.
Also called nut. Printing. half of the width of an em.
adjective
3.
Printing. having the area of an en quad or the length of an en:
en quad; en dash.
Origin
1785-95

en-1

1.
a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in English on this model, forming verbs with the general sense “to cause (a person or thing) to be in” the place, condition, or state named by the stem; more specifically, “to confine in or place on” (enshrine; enthrone; entomb); “to cause to be in” (enslave; entrust; enrich; encourage; endear); “to restrict” in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense “on all sides, completely” (enwind; encircle; enclose; entwine). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to give them a transitive marker if they are already transitive (enkindle; enliven; enshield; enface).
Also, before labial consonants, em-1 .
Compare be-, in-2 .
Origin
Middle English < Old French < Latin in- in-2

en-2

1.
a prefix meaning “within, in,” occurring in loanwords from Greek:
energy; enthusiasm.
Also, before labial consonants, em-2 .
Origin
< Greek (often through L); cognate with in-1, in-2

-en1

1.
a suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives (fasten; harden; sweeten), or from nouns (heighten; lengthen; strengthen).
Origin
Middle English, Old English -n- (as in Middle English fast-n-en, Old English fǣst-n-ian to make fast, fasten); cognate with -n- of like verbs in other Gmc languages (Old Norse fastna)

-en2

1.
a suffix used to form adjectives of source or material from nouns:
ashen; golden; oaken.
Origin
Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old High German -īn, Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus; see -ine1

-en3

1.
a suffix used to mark the past participle in many strong and some weak verbs:
taken; proven.
Origin
Middle English, Old English; cognate with German -en, Old Norse -inn

-en4

1.
a suffix used in forming the plural of some nouns:
brethren; children; oxen.
Origin
Middle English; Old English -an, case ending of n-stem nouns, as in naman oblique singular, and nominative and accusative plural of nama name; akin to n-stem forms in other IE languages, as in Latin nōmen, nōmin- name

-en5

1.
a diminutive suffix:
kitten; maiden.
Origin
Middle English, Old English, from neuter of -en2
Examples from the web for en
  • en route to the bedroom, pete sees a picture of a man and asks whom it depicts.
  • It is usually cut en cabochon, or into beads, and is also used for intaglios and cameos.
British Dictionary definitions for en

en

/ɛn/
noun
1.
(printing) a unit of measurement, half the width of an em Also called nut See also ennage

EN

abbreviation (in Britain)
1.
enrolled nurse
2.
English Nature

en-1

prefix
1.
(from nouns)
  1. put in or on: entomb, enthrone
  2. go on or into: enplane
  3. surround or cover with: enmesh
  4. furnish with: empower
2.
(from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition: enable, encourage, enrich, enslave
Word Origin
via Old French from Latin in-in-²

en-2

prefix
1.
in; into; inside: endemic
Word Origin
from Greek (often via Latin); compare in-1, in-²

-en1

suffix
1.
cause to be; become; cause to have: blacken, heighten
Word Origin
Old English -n-, as in fæst-n-ian to fasten, of common Germanic origin; compare Icelandic fastna

-en2

suffix
1.
of; made of; resembling: ashen, earthen, wooden
Word Origin
Old English -en; related to Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus-ine1
Word Origin and History for en

en-

assimilated to -p-, -b-, -m-, -l-, -r-, word-forming element meaning "in, into," from French and Old French en-, from Latin in- "in, into" (see in- (2)).

Also used with native elements to form verbs from nouns and adjectives, "put in or on" (encircle), also "cause to be, make" (endear), and used as an intensive (enclose). Spelling variants in French that were brought over into Middle English account for parallels such as assure/ensure/insure.

assimilated to -p-, -b-, -m-, -l-, -r-, word-forming element meaning "near, at in, on, within," from Greek en "in," cognate with Latin in (see in), and with en- (1).

-en

word-forming element making verbs (e.g. darken, weaken) from adjectives or from nouns, from Old English -nian, from Proto-Germanic *-inojan (cf. Old Norse -na), from PIE adjectival suffix *-no-. Most active in Middle English.

suffix added to nouns to produce adjectives meaning "made of, of the nature of" (e.g. golden, oaken), corresponding to Latin -ine. Common in Old and Middle English, surviving words with it now are largely discarded in everyday use and the simple form of the noun serves as an adjective as well.

en in Medicine

en- 2 or em-
pref.
In; into; within: enzootic.

Related Abbreviations for en

en

English

EN

  1. end node
  2. endocardium